193 FIRST GROUND VISIT TO THE EMPEROR PENGUIN APTENODYTES FORSTERI COLONY AT SNOW HILL ISLAND, WEDDELL SEA, ANTARCTICA FRANK S. TODD,1 SUSAN ADIE2 & JOHN F. SPLETTSTOESSER3 1Ecocepts International, 8958 Kobe Way, San Diego, California 92123, USA ([email protected]) 2Quark Expeditions, 1019 Post Road, Darien, Connecticut 06820, USA 3PO Box 515, Waconia, Minnesota 55387, USA Received 1 December 2004, accepted 13 December 2004 During its first tourist cruise of the 2004/05 austral summer season, Montalti (2000). The colony was on fast ice about 350–400 m from the Russian icebreaker Kapitan Khlebnikov visited the Antarctic the low ice cliffs of the south coast of Snow Hill Island (Fig. 1). Peninsula and Weddell Sea. On 9 November 2004, the ship Icebergs provided protection from the prevailing wind, a feature encountered fast ice on the east side of Snow Hill Island (64°28'S, common to many Emperor Penguin colonies. The colony was 57°15'W), with no leads or openings observed to the south. composed of about six sub-groups, which appeared to have moved Emperor Penguins Aptenodytes forsteri have been observed for short distances as evidenced by guano deposits. many years by staff on tourist vessels and occupants of scientific stations in the northern Antarctic Peninsula. Hence, it had been All helicopter flights to transport 65 passengers plus seven suspected that a colony existed to the south within the Weddell Sea expedition staff to and from the colony area were closely monitored (Coria & Montalti 2000). On 2 January 1990, for example, at least by qualified staff to ensure that the penguins showed no adverse 35 Emperor Penguins (mostly adults) were observed at various reactions. The landing site (about 1.5 km from the colony) was times on ice floes east of Seymour Island, c.40km to the north of chosen so that an iceberg provided a sound and visual barrier to the Snow Hill Island (JS & FST pers. obs.). Some 50 adult Emperor birds. No flights were made over or near the colony, and no more Penguins were seen on 9 November 2004 making their way from than 25 people were at the colony at any one time. No changes in the open water around the ship onto the fast ice in a southerly behaviour by the penguins were observed by us, and the curiosity direction. of some adults actually resulted in them coming toward the helicopter landing site. A helicopter reconnaissance was then conducted the same day farther south to search for the Emperor Penguin colony A six-hour census conducted by FST yielded 3885 downy chicks, immediately south of Snow Hill Island that had been discovered on mostly guarded by parents (Fig. 2), counted individually from an overflight on 20 July 1997 (Coria & Montalti 2000). As far as elevated areas of the fast ice. The sub-groups were mostly we are aware, no one had subsequently visited the colony by air, stationary for the duration of the visit, had about equal numbers of and no ground visit had ever been made. Our objective was to re- chicks, and were separated from each other by between 50 m and locate the colony, to conduct a ground census of chicks and to 150 m. Most chicks appeared healthy, but a small percentage of obtain any other relevant information. unattended “runts” was observed. At least 100 dead chicks were noted, as was one abandoned egg. Adult birds present were not The colony was located by GPS at 64°31.401'S, 57°27.465'W—a counted. The colony size was conservatively estimated at about position similar to that of 64°32'S, 57°26'W reported by Coria & Fig. 1. Aerial view of the Emperor Penguin colony at Snow Hill Island looking south, 9 November 2004. Photograph by Jennifer Fig. 2. Chicks and adults in the Emperor Penguin colony at Snow Clement. Hill Island, 9 November 2004. Photograph by Jennifer Clement. Marine Ornithology 32: 193–194 (2004) 194 Todd et al.: First ground visit to the Emperor Penguin colony at Snow Hill Island 4000–4200 breeding pairs, which compares with the estimate of ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 1200 pairs by Coria & Montalti (2000), which was based on counts of incubating birds on aerial photographs. We thank the crew of the Kapitan Khlebnikov—especially Captain Pavel Ankudinov and the helicopter pilots—for making the visit On 6 December 1893, C.A. Larsen, Norwegian whaling captain on possible. Staff member Jennifer Clement assisted by joining the the ship Jason, reached a “farthest south” of 68°10'S off what is initial flight to locate the colony. Charles Swithinbank researched now the Larsen Ice Shelf, about 240 nautical miles (445 km) south the history of the discovery of an Emperor Penguin colony by C.A. of Snow Hill Island, farther south than anyone has since been along Larsen in 1893, and Lynn Lay, Librarian, Byrd Polar Research that coast. On 4 December 1893, as Jason headed south, Larsen Center, The Ohio State University, found pertinent literature and reported an Emperor Penguin colony on fast ice in a “fjord” (inlet) the 1895 map. Comments by Eric Woehler and reviews by Marco of the ice shelf at 67°S, 60°W, about 160 nautical miles (295 km) Favero, Patricia Silva and Jose Valencia greatly improved the south of Snow Hill Island (Aagaard 1944, p. 178). Larsen reported manuscript. (in Norwegian) that the penguins were “very numerous,” but without including an estimate of colony size. An annotated chart at REFERENCES the back of Aagaard (1944) provides some details of the voyage of Jason,including mention of the penguin colony. The chart is dated AAGAARD, B. 1944. Antarktis 1502–1944: Oppdagelser, 1895 and comes from an earlier source. Naturforhold og Suverenitetsforhold. Norges Svalbard—og Ishavs-Undersøkelser, Meddelelser Nr. 60 (Oslo, i Kommisjon It is possible that the Emperor Penguin colony presently just south hos Jacob Dybwad). of Snow Hill Island was forced to relocate from the front of the CORIA, N.R. & MONTALTI, D. 2000. A newly discovered Larsen Ice Shelf as that shelf began to disintegrate within the last breeding colony of Emperor Penguins Aptenodytes forsteri. decade (e.g. Vaughan & Doake 1996), and that the Snow Hill Island Marine Ornithology 28: 119–120. penguins of 2004 are descendents of the birds of Larsen’s colony of MESSICK, M., SPLETTSTOESSER, J.F., HARRISON, P. & 1893. However, satellite imagery from 2002 shows two sheltered GAVRILO, M. 1999. New breeding site for Emperor Penguins bays on the south coast of Jason Peninsula (at 66°04'S and 66°10'S) (Aptenodytes forsteri) on Princess Martha Coast, Queen Maud that were still ice shelf at that time (C. Swithinbank pers. comm.). Land, East Antarctica. Polar Record 35: 156–157. It is possible that either of those, as well as others to the south, SPLETTSTOESSER, J.F., GAVRILO, M., FIELD, C., FIELD, C., might have existed in 1893—one of them being the site that Larsen HARRISON, P., MESSICK, M., OXFORD, P. & TODD, F.S. reported, possibly still with an Emperor Penguin colony today. The 2000. Notes on Antarctic wildlife: Ross Seals Ommatophoca location is difficult to reach by icebreaker, although an overflight at rossii and Emperor Penguins Aptenodytes forsteri. New Zealand the right time of the year might determine whether the “Larsen Journal of Zoology 27: 137–142. colony” is still there. VAUGHAN, D.G. & DOAKE, C.S.M. 1996. Recent atmospheric warming and retreat of ice shelves on the Antarctic Peninsula. The only other known Emperor Penguin colony on the Antarctic Nature 379: 328–331. Peninsula—at the Dion Islands (67°52'S, 68°43'W), Marguerite WOEHLER, E.J. 1993. The distribution and abundance of Bay—has a relatively small population [85 breeding pairs in 1978 Antarctic and Subantarctic penguins. Cambridge: Scientific (Woehler 1993)], and is known to be decreasing in size (E.J. Committee on Antarctic Research. Woehler pers. comm.). That colony is nearly four degrees of WOEHLER, E.J. & CROXALL, J.P. 1997. The status and trends of latitude south of the Snow Hill Island colony, thus making the latter Antarctic and sub-Antarctic seabirds. Marine Ornithology 25: the northernmost known Emperor Penguin colony in the Antarctic 43–66. Peninsula and Weddell Sea regions, and also in the whole of Antarctica (Woehler 1993, Woehler & Croxall 1997). The current minimum breeding population in all of Antarctica of this species is of the order of 200 000 pairs in at least 45 colonies (Woehler 1993, Woehler & Croxall 1997, Messick et al. 1999, Coria & Montalti 2000, Splettstoesser et al. 2000). Marine Ornithology 32: 193–194 (2004).